The Attorney General’s office has withdrawn controversial statements that appeared to discourage officials from attending a parliamentary hearing about the Paphos-Polis road project, following strong pushback from lawmakers.
The retreat came after the Parliamentary Committee on Development Plans and Public Expenditure Control strongly objected to what it perceived as pressure on ministers and civil servants to skip its February 6 session, and implied threats about potential criminal offences by parliamentarians.
In a letter to Committee Chairman Zacharias Koulias, the Law Office indirectly withdrew the disputed points while stopping short of admitting error.
The letter, signed by Rena Papaeti-Hadjicosta, Chief Prosecutor of the Financial Sector, stated that the February 6 correspondence “was not intended to prevent officials from attending the session”.
Regarding potential criminal offences, the Law Office clarified that references to relevant legislation did not target parliamentarians.
The February 19 letter explained that while Article 44 of the Courts Law N. 14/60 “could not override MPs’ constitutional rights”, the reference was included because non-parliamentary attendees were also present.
Committee Chairman Koulias had previously told philenews that any invited person failing to appear would be forcibly brought in by police, a position echoed by MP Chrysis Pantelides, who raised the issue.
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